Discussion Begins on Scots Public Services

Discussion Begins on Scots Public Services

Article excerpt

Finance Minister Tom McCabe is to begin a wide-ranging dialogue on public services following the publication of a long-awaited discussion document on the reform of the public sector in Scotland.

'It is time for a new settlement for public services to equip Scotland for the challenges of the next 20 years,' McCabe said on June 15 when he published Transforming public services: the next phase of reform.

The document fell short of expectations that it would outline structural changes. Instead, McCabe offered Scotland's public services the chance to shape their own future.

'We are not proposing top-down solutions, we are calling on everyone with a stake in public services to consider how best to move forward,' he said.

Public sector bodies, including councils, health boards and enterprise agencies, have been challenged to come up with ways of working together. …